ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY IN CHICAGO, IL
Estate Planning Can Feel Complicated. We Make the Process Easier and Straightforward.
Protect your family, preserve what you’ve built, and make important decisions with clear guidance from an experienced estate planning team.
- Living trusts, wills, powers of attorney and probate guidance
- A plan built around your family, assets and goals
- Free, no-obligation consultation
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Please do not submit confidential or time-sensitive information. Using this form does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
When should I start estate planning?
Estate planning is best handled before illness, incapacity, or death creates an urgent need. Planning early gives you time to decide who should manage your affairs, receive your property, care for minor children, and make important financial or medical decisions if you cannot make them yourself.
You do not need to be wealthy or retired to benefit from proper planning. If you own a home, have retirement or financial accounts, support loved ones, own a business, or simply want more control over important decisions, an estate plan can help.
A sudden loss is difficult enough without adding financial uncertainty, unclear instructions, or unnecessary court involvement. With Tuohy Law Offices, you get an experienced estate planning attorney Chicago families rely on. We can help you address estate planning issues while you still have the time and ability to make thoughtful decisions.
Tuohy Law Offices serves clients from our Oakbrook Terrace office, including families throughout Oak Brook, Chicago, DuPage County, Cook County, and throughout Illinois. We offer remote access for clients who can’t travel or live far from our office.
What documents do I need for an estate plan in Illinois?
Most Illinois estate planning involves several documents that work together. Depending on your circumstances, your estate planning services may include any of the five components of estate planning, plus other legal documents tailored to your family, property, and goals.
Our estate planning lawyer in Chicago will look at the full picture before recommending estate planning strategies. We start by answering some of the most pressing questions clients have:
Last Will and Testament
A Last Will and Testament can prevent disputes among heirs. It explains how to distribute certain property, names an executor, and documents your choice of guardian for minor children. To be valid, it must also meet Illinois legal standards.
Living Trust
A revocable Living Trust can hold qualifying assets during your lifetime and provide instructions for how they should be managed or transferred later. When properly funded, it can also help keep certain assets out of probate.
If your plan involves a Trust, our Trust attorney Chicago team can help you understand how it should fit with your other estate planning documents.
Financial Power of Attorney
A Financial Power of Attorney allows you to choose a trusted person to handle certain financial and property matters if illness or incapacity prevents you from acting for yourself.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
A Healthcare Power of Attorney lets you name someone you trust to make healthcare decisions if you can’t make them yourself. It can also document important wishes about treatment and life-support decisions.
Probate and Estate Planning
Probate is not one of the five core estate planning components, but avoiding unnecessary court involvement is an important planning goal for many families. Living Trusts, beneficiary designations, proper asset titling, and certain transfer-on-death arrangements may allow qualifying assets to pass outside probate.
What estate plan is right for my family?
No single plan works for every family. The right approach depends on what you own, how your property is titled, who you want to protect, your family dynamics, business interests, chosen beneficiaries, and what you want to happen if you become incapacitated or die.
After reviewing your circumstances, a Chicago estate planning attorney may recommend a will-based plan, Living Trust, beneficiary strategy, powers of attorney, or other legal arrangements. We may start with the following question to find out which one best suits your needs:
How should blended families plan their inheritance?
Blended families often need more detailed planning because spouses, biological children, stepchildren, and other loved ones may have different interests.
A carefully structured estate plan can clarify who inherits, when assets pass, and how to balance the interests of a surviving spouse and children. Living Trusts and beneficiary designations may be particularly important when family relationships are more complex.
What happens to my minor children’s inheritance if I die?
Minor children need specific estate planning because they cannot manage significant inherited assets on their own. Your plan can address who should manage property for them, when distributions should occur, and who you would prefer to care for your children if you die while they are young.
A Trust can also provide more control over how and when an inheritance reaches a minor beneficiary.
How do I include digital assets in my estate plan?
Review digital assets alongside your home, financial accounts, business interests, and other property. These may include online financial accounts, stored documents, digital property, subscriptions, business accounts, and information your family may need to locate or manage later.
Create an inventory of important digital assets and discuss how to handle access within your broader plan.
What should you expect from the estate planning process?
Estate planning is a collaborative process. Our law firm first takes time to understand your family, assets, priorities, and existing documents, then identifies the planning tools that fit your circumstances. We then recommend a personalized approach based on the complexity of your needs.
Costs
Costs depend on the work your plan requires. Factors can include the number and type of documents, family circumstances, property ownership, trusts, business interests, and the amount of coordination needed with financial or tax professionals.
Tuohy Law Offices can explain the scope of your planning needs during your consultation before you move forward.
Timelines
The timeline varies based on the complexity of your plan, how quickly you gather information, and whether financial advisors or institutions need to be involved.
Having information about your property, accounts, beneficiaries, and existing documents ready can help the process move more efficiently.
Updates
As you move through different stages of life, your estate plan should keep pace with your family, property, finances, and wishes. Major events such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or grandchild, retirement, a change in property or business holdings, or a shift in your beneficiaries’ circumstances are all good reasons to revisit your existing plan.
Moving to Illinois
Moving to Illinois is a good reason to have an Illinois estate planning lawyer review your documents. An estate plan created elsewhere may still be valid, but Illinois law, powers of attorney, property ownership, tax rules, and other local considerations may affect how well it works.
A review can identify what needs attention without assuming you must replace every document.
Why do Chicago families choose Tuohy Law Offices for estate planning?
Estate planning should leave you with greater clarity, not a binder of documents you do not understand. Tuohy Law Offices has served Illinois families since 1982 and takes a hands-on approach throughout the entire process.
Tuohy Law Offices has prepared more than 8,000 Living Trust estate plans while providing the personal attention and clear explanations Illinois families need when planning for their future.
- Will you explain my choices clearly? We use plain language to explain wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, probate, Trust administration, and related planning tools.
- Will my plan be personalized? We consider your assets, loved ones, beneficiaries, real estate, business interests, and long-term priorities rather than relying on a standard template.
- Can you work with my financial advisors? When appropriate, we coordinate with CPAs, financial advisors, and financial institutions so asset ownership and legal planning work together.
- What happens after I sign? We help you understand Trust funding, transferring assets, beneficiary coordination, document access, and other next steps.
- Can my plan change as my life changes? Yes. Marriage, divorce, retirement, new children, business succession, and major financial changes may all call for attorney review.
What estate planning support is available for first responders?
First responders need the same core estate planning documents as other families. Still, the demands of their work can make planning for incapacity, medical decisions, and family financial security especially important.
Tuohy Law Offices has long served police officers, firefighters, EMTs, military members, educators, government employees, medical professionals, and others who serve their communities. Through our Service to Those Who Serve program, qualifying individuals receive a one-third reduction in estate planning fees.
What do clients say about working with Tuohy Law Offices?
Clients value estate planning guidance that feels personal and easy to understand. Tuohy Law Offices takes time to answer questions, explain clearly, and help clients understand how the pieces of their plan work together.
I am proud to state that Tom Tuohy has been my valued friend and legal counsel for over 35 years. During that time, he has also served the legal needs of the residents of the Cabrini-Green housing complex and diligently represented countless individuals and families throughout the State of Illinois. Tom has consistently demonstrated commitment and dedication in his work and in performing his law practice responsibilities. He has shown an ability to work constructively and compassionately with everyone involved in our justice system. His positive attitude and conscientious approach to his practice and its inherent legal challenges exemplify the legal temperament, diligence, and intellect necessary in jurisprudence. Tom has also been a longtime advocate for children’s rights, as shown by founding Dreams for Kids, Inc. and serving as a longtime member of the Board of Directors of the Jesse White Tumbling Team. These positions reflect his concern for youngsters. In essence, I consider Tom Tuohy to be one of Illinois’ outstanding attorneys and someone who can be relied on and trusted.
I have known of Tom Tuohy’s reputation for a long time through my responsibilities as Police Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. When the time came to take care of my family business and my personal and business affairs, I knew exactly who I would retain. Tom has the extensive professional experience and demeanor you would hope for in an attorney and counselor. I knew that I could rely on his expertise, and most importantly, I knew I could trust him. In my background as law enforcement professional and as principal of Hillard Heintze, LLC, there is nothing more important than trust and confidentiality. You can trust Tom Tuohy to handle your affairs in the most professional manner and you can be assured that you will be protected.
What other legal services does Tuohy Law Offices provide?
Estate planning is a major practice focus, but clients may also need help with business or personal injury matters.
Small Business Law
Tuohy Law Offices has represented hundreds of small businesses and assists with LLCs, corporations, business organization, and related legal needs, including issues that may intersect with business succession planning.
Personal Injury
The firm also assists clients with vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, workers’ compensation, nursing home neglect and abuse, product liability, and related personal injury matters.
Frequently asked questions about estate taxes and beneficiaries
What should I know about estate taxes and beneficiary decisions in Illinois?
Tax rules and beneficiary designations can change how assets ultimately pass to the people you intend to protect. Review them alongside your Will, Trusts, retirement accounts, insurance policies, and broader estate planning strategies so the different parts of your plan work together.
Does Illinois have an estate tax or an inheritance tax?
Illinois currently imposes an estate tax rather than a separate inheritance tax on individual beneficiaries. Families with larger estates should consider state tax rules as part of their broader planning.
What is the current Illinois estate tax exemption?
Illinois currently uses a $4 million exclusion amount for estate tax purposes. Estates approaching or exceeding that amount may require additional tax and legal planning.
Does putting assets in a Living Trust reduce estate taxes?
Not automatically. A standard revocable Living Trust can help with asset management and probate planning, but placing property in one does not by itself remove those assets from your taxable estate.
What happens if my beneficiary designations conflict with my will?
Assets with valid beneficiary designations generally pass according to those instructions rather than your Will. Reviewing retirement accounts, life insurance, and other beneficiary-based assets is therefore an important part of proper planning.
Should I name my Trust as the beneficiary of my IRA or life insurance?
Sometimes, but it depends on your goals and the type of asset involved. Naming a Trust as beneficiary can affect how assets are managed and may also create tax considerations, particularly with retirement accounts.
Where can I learn more about Illinois estate planning?
The Tuohy Law Blog offers practical guidance on Wills, Trusts, probate, beneficiaries, property ownership, asset protection, and other legal issues that affect Illinois families.
What would you like help planning?
You do not need to know exactly which documents or estate planning services you need before contacting Tuohy Law Offices.
Bring your questions and a general understanding of your family, assets, existing documents, and goals. We can help identify which issues deserve closer attention.
Complete the form to request a free, no-obligation consultation.
Please do not submit confidential or time-sensitive information through this form.
Using the internet or this form to communicate with Tuohy Law Offices or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
Tuohy Law Offices
Contact details: 17W220 22nd St, Suite 510, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
Ready to get your estate plan out of your head and onto paper?
You may already have a vision for your family’s future. We’re here to help make it a reality. If you need a Wills and Trusts attorney Chicago families can rely on for clear, personalized guidance, Tuohy Law Offices can help you put the right plan in place.
Tuohy Law Offices serves clients from our Oakbrook Terrace office, including families throughout Oak Brook, Chicago, DuPage County, and Cook County—call (312) 559-8400 today.
